Paramount packed a lot into a few days. The company locked up a massive UFC package, laid out a theater first strategy with a bigger film slate, signaled that its legacy cable brands will stay put, set an end date for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, faced a new shareholder lawsuit, and emerged as a serious bidder for the Duffer Brothers. Here is everything in one place, why it matters, and how it fits together for fans of Top Gun, Star Trek, Yellowstone, and more.
UFC is moving to Paramount in 2026
Paramount struck a seven year agreement with TKO that makes Paramount Plus the U.S. streaming home of UFC starting in 2026. The package includes every numbered event and Fight Night on Paramount Plus, with select marquee cards simulcast on CBS. Early coverage pegs the value at about 7.7 billion over seven years. For fans, that means one subscription for the full slate instead of the old mix of pay per view and app hopping. For Paramount, it is a flagship sports pillar that can pull in younger viewers and boost time spent in the app.
Movies will be made for theaters first
Leadership told reporters that Paramount will not churn out straight to streaming features. The plan is a theatrical first pipeline with streaming as the follow up window. That is a cultural signal as much as a business one. They want to convince filmmakers and stars that Paramount is once again a home for big screen films, then use Paramount Plus to extend the life of those movies.
A bigger slate is coming
The studio currently puts out about eight films per year. The target now is roughly fifteen a year with an eventual goal of twenty. Priorities include Top Gun 3 and more Star Trek. The team also name checked Transformers and World War Z as key franchises. At the same time they want room for filmmaker driven originals. One example arrived fast. James Mangold’s High Side, starring Timothée Chalamet, landed at Paramount after a competitive chase.
Family, comedy, horror, and Middle America
Executives said family adventure is a key lane, with touchstones like The Goonies and Gremlins. They also want a real presence in R rated comedy and horror, plus stories that play to Middle America. That mix lines up with what has historically worked at the studio and should offer counter programming when the superhero calendar slows.
Paramount also signaled no interest in spinning off the cable portfolio. BET, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and CBS are all considered part of the plan. The message was simple. These brands still reach a lot of people, so the job now is to rebuild them and connect them more tightly to the film and streaming strategy.
Late night is changing
CBS will end The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May 2026. That retires the Late Show franchise after more than three decades. Paramount president Jeff Shell backed the decision and pointed to a hard math problem. Around eighty percent of late night viewing now happens on YouTube, where ad rates do not cover the cost of a big daily show. CBS says the call was financial, not performance based. The network’s ten pm hour was also described as healthy, so expect schedule tweaks rather than a full overhaul.
The Duffer Brothers are in talks
Multiple outlets report that Matt and Ross Duffer are in advanced talks for a major overall deal at Paramount that spans series and theatrical features. It would reunite them with Cindy Holland, who initially greenlit Stranger Things while at Netflix and now leads streaming at Paramount. Even if the deal closes, the Duffers will still have existing projects at Netflix, including the final Stranger Things season and other series. For Paramount, landing the Duffers would be a clear signal that the studio is serious about event storytelling on both sides of the house.
The big picture
Put it all together and you can see the outline. Paramount wants theaters to lead, streaming to reinforce, sports to drive habit, and cable to feed the pipeline. The company is betting that familiar hits like Top Gun and Star Trek, plus creator led originals like High Side, will bring talent back and give fans a reason to show up week after week. Add UFC in 2026 and the calendar gets a steady run of must watch moments. There are still lawsuits to navigate and the market is tough, but the direction is clear and very fan forward.
gfpods.com 
Leave a comment